Colorful Fish Clips
Wrap shrimp filling in mandarin fish fillets to form half-moon shaped parcels. Briefly fry, thicken with cornstarch, and plate. Garnish with steamed fish head and tail.
Ingredients
Mandarin fish (scale scraped, gills removed, innards removed, fish meat taken)
1
Shrimp meat (minced into paste)
to taste
Shaoxing wine (for marinating and seasoning)
20 g
Fine salt (for marinating and seasoning)
to taste
MSG (for marinating and seasoning)
to taste
Egg white (for mixing)
to taste
Ham (cut into paste and small diamond-shaped pieces for garnish)
to taste
Green vegetable leaves (cut into small diamond-shaped pieces for garnish)
to taste
Soaked dried winter mushroom (cut into small diamond-shaped pieces for garnish)
to taste
Cooked pork fat (for oil blanching and thickening)
to taste
Chicken broth (for braising)
to taste
Wet starch (for thickening)
to taste
Instructions
1
Ingredient Preparation
Cut the green vegetable leaves, ham, and soaked dried winter mushrooms into small diamond-shaped pieces respectively. Scale the mandarin fish, remove the gills, slit the belly to remove the innards, wash and drain dry, detach the head and tail, and take out the fish meat.
2
Marinating the Head and Tail
Marinate the head and tail with 5 g Shaoxing wine, 0.5 g fine salt, and 0.5 g MSG.
3
Marinating and Preparing the Fish Slices
Slice the fish meat into rectangular pieces 6.5 cm long and 3.5 cm wide, marinate with 5 g Shaoxing wine, 0.5 g fine salt, and 0.5 g MSG for 10 minutes, then spread the slices out flat.
4
Making the Filling
Add 1 g fine salt, 5 g Shaoxing wine, 1 g MSG, and egg white to the shrimp meat and mix well, then fold in the minced ham. After mixing evenly, place a portion onto each fish slice, fold both ends of the fish slice inward, trim into a half-round fish clip, and garnish with small diamond-shaped pieces of ham, green vegetable leaves, and soaked dried winter mushroom.
5
Oil Blanching
Place a wok over the heat, add cooked pork fat, and heat to 50% hot. Slip in the fish clips to pass through the oil. When the fish meat turns white, pour out and drain off the oil.
6
Braising
Return the wok to the heat, add chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Add 0.5 g fine salt and 5 g Shaoxing wine, thicken with wet starch, pour in the fish clips, shake the wok to coat evenly, drizzle in cooked pork fat, then lift out and arrange neatly on a plate.
7
Steaming the Head and Tail
Place the fish head and tail in a steamer and steam until cooked through, then attach them at both ends of the fish clips to complete the dish.
